Kristaps Porzingis is putback-dunking his way into New York's heart
Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis is making a name for himself quickly.
•
5 min read
TORONTO -- Kristaps Porzingis darted from the 3-point line to the basket as star teammate Carmelo Anthony hoisted up a long jumper. The New York Knicks rookie left his feet a couple of steps outside the charge circle, unfurled his seemingly endless arms, snatched the rebound and threw down a two-handed dunk over three opponents. The Toronto Raptors' James Johnson, Luis Scola and Jonas Valanciunas looked equally stunned.
On the Knicks bench, the players jumped in celebration. They're used to this by now, though. As ESPN's Tom Haberstroh noted, Porzingis' league-leading sixth putback dunk of the year came before seven teams had recorded even a single one. How in the world does this keep happening?
"He's f**** tall as s*** and he's aggressive,” Knicks forward Lou Amundson said Tuesday. "He hits the glass and he's got good timing and he's got long arms."
When the San Antonio Spurs visited New York, Porzingis climbed over LaMarcus Aldridge's back for a particularly ferocious, one-handed finish. Kevin Love suffered a similar fate in Cleveland. Against the Atlanta Hawks, Anthony tried to rebound his own miss but the 7-foot-3 Porzingis dunked it on top of him. Anthony smiled.
Porzingis had two putbacks against the Milwaukee Bucks. One of them made the Madison Square Garden crowd erupt as if he'd just gone back in time and crammed one on Reggie Miller.
"Energy goes through you," Porzingis said. "I try to go for every offensive rebound so when I catch it and I can put it back in there, just energy goes through you. And you give energy back to the team.
"Every time I see the ball around the rim, I just try to put it back in there."
The 20-year-old can't remember the first time he did it successfully, but it always feels the same. His teammates go crazy, the crowd oohs and ahhs. He's watched replays of the damage he's already done in his short NBA career, but declined to pick a favorite.
"I don't want to judge myself,” Porzingis said. "I don't like to comment on my dunks. I'll let the people do the talking."
The rest of the Knicks have no problem discussing Porzingis' aerial exploits. Forward Kyle O'Quinn paused for a moment when the subject was brought up.
"Have you ever been 7-3?" O'Quinn asked. "Neither have I." He then repeated the question and answer to locker neighbor Kevin Seraphin.
"He's long, he's tall," O'Quinn continued. "I mean, he just takes a stab at it. He just goes in, his arms are above everybody so he has a better chance of getting it. And when he does catch it, he does look to finish."
Seraphin interrupted and said that he might start to call Porzingis “Inspector Gadget.” O'Quinn imitated Seraphin's French accent: "'In-SPECK-tore Gadget,' make sure you write it like that.” When the potential nickname was relayed to Porzingis, he laughed and said he'd heard that one before.
Forward Cleanthony Early would likely approve. "He has looooong-ass arms," Early said. "I don't know if I can say that on air, but his arms are long as heck.” Put another way, Porzingis has a 7-6 wingspan, which comes in handy when he's trying to beat some of the best big men in the NBA to the ball.
Rookie Jerian Grant said the putbacks get more and more exciting every time. Veteran Jose Calderon understated it: "He can keep doing it. I'm OK with that."
New York fans are much more than OK with Porzingis, who was seen as a long-term project when he was drafted fourth overall back in June. They booed him at Barclays Center then, but warmed up to him after a strong showing at summer league in July. They are now fully in love with Porzingis' game and his attitude, screaming at each other with glee every time he does something spectacular.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott told reporters his team was wrong about how long it would take Porzingis to adjust, adding that he would be “really special one day.” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey recalled years ago asking Detlef Schrempf about a “skinny kid from Germany” named Dirk Nowitzki, and said that Porzingis had similar potential. Both coaches called him fearless, and Magic Johnson called him the steal of the draft.
Expectations have been raised quickly, but Porzingis said the praise just gives him more motivation to become great. "There's a lot of stuff that I don't like in my own game that I try to fix,” he said, adding that he appreciates that the Knicks coaching staff has believed in him. Few “projects” are in the starting lineup on opening night.
"They give me confidence and they see that I can go up against the best power forwards in the league," Porzingis said. "That's huge. I just gotta go out there, play my ass off and do everything that coach asks me to do to win games."
Despite the hype around him in the NBA's biggest market, Porzingis insisted that he's focused on the areas where he needs to improve. The 11.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game are impressive, but he's shooting just 39 percent from the field and 21 percent from 3-point range.
"I haven't even played that well, I think,” Porzingis said. "I've been missing a lot of shots. That's one of my weapons: my shot. And I've been missing a lot, really. I'm just trying to play hard and they appreciate that, they see that I'm playing hard. But I feel when I start making those shots that are my shots -- I gotta make them -- I'll play even at a better level."
A night after the throwdown in Toronto, Porzingis played his best game of the season. He had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks against the Charlotte Hornets, shooting 5-for-10 from the field. Trailing by two with 0.6 seconds remaining, the Knicks went to him for a deep 3-pointer to win it. He made the shot, was mobbed by his teammates and then the basket was waved off, perhaps incorrectly.
As Porzingis adds to his highlight reel, the league is taking notice. Perhaps at some point he will slow down in the putback-dunk department, as coaches stress to players that they absolutely have to put a body on him.
"It's the NBA,” Early said. "Teams already box out. But you would think that's exactly what they would say. Apparently that's not the case."
Exiting the locker room at the Air Canada Centre, Early locked eyes with Porzingis and mimed a dunk. "Kristaps Porzingis with the emphatic jam!" he said in his best play-by-play announcer voice. Porzingis didn't say anything back. He just smiled.
